Funds entrusted to the Bank.
Slight decrease.
Netherlands: continuing, stronggrowth.
Abroad:
increased volume in local currency.
The sum of Savings, Deposits and Creditors in
1985 declined by 2.9% to Fl. 74.3 billion, the
main reason being the fall in the value of the
dollar and the dollar-linked currencies. The
shift in demand towards negotiable paper has
also played a part, albeit in lesser degree.
The influence of these factors is clear from the
fact that the decline of the funds entrusted is
attributable to our branches abroad, and also
from the decrease of deposits, of which the
greater part is in dollars.
The funds entrusted to our domestic network
virtually steadied and increased only by 0.4%.
A number of specific developments are dealt
with below.
The aggregate of Savings, Deposits and Creditors
at our domestic branches hardly differed at
Fl. 50.6 billion from the year-ago level.
As with credits, the growth was attributable to
the resident sector; funds entrusted by non
residents clearly fell. Deposits again made an
important contribution to the rise in funds
entrusted by residents and, as in the previous
years, reflected ample liquidity in the business
sector under the influence of the balance of
payments surplus. A noticeable feature was the
clear slowdown in the rate of growth of this item
in the second half of the year. This, in
conjunction with the increased demand for
credit, is a new indication of greater willing
ness on the part of industry to invest.
The decrease in Creditors at our domestic
branches was the result, among other things, of a
decline in sight deposits of non-residents and an
increase in funds entrusted by business and
private clients resident in the Netherlands, both
the number of accounts and the individual
balances rising.
On the domestic side, the growth of savings in
1985 was at 6.2% markedly higher than the
previous year. Some movement occurred,
traditional savings schemes gaining some ground
at the expense of fixed term deposits. The use of
the term "traditional" in this context is some
what misleading, because the growth was mainly
in schemes introduced in 1984 or 1985. Thus,
interest in the ABN Super Savings Account, in
which the rate of interest varies according to the
balance, remained high, and the Capital
Account, introduced in October - minimum
investment Fl. 25,000, choice of early access or
high interest - rapidly proved a success. Finally,
our savings campaign, in which each new saver
was offered an admission ticket to museums,
contributed to the rise in aggregate savings.
While a number of new savings schemes were
introduced in 1985, some existing ones were
withdrawn. The result, we believe, has been to
simplify the choice on the part of savers.
With withdrawals again exceeding investments,
the sum of cash notes, which appear in the
balance sheet under the heading "Deposit and
savings certificates and loans not subordinated",
declined further. Conversely, deposit and savings
certificates, which can be traded on the Stock
Exchange, showed a net increase. ECU "bank-
brieven", which were first introduced, by the
ABN, in May 1985, have proved to be a
success, 132 million guildersworth having been
placed by the end of the year. Demand for our
guilder "bankbrieven" was also satisfactory.
As was the case in the area of credits, the
volume of the funds entrusted to the foreign
branches of the Bank in 1985 was influenced to a
large extent by the decline in the value of a great
many foreign currencies, including the dollar.
The sum of Savings, Deposits and Creditors
abroad fell by 9.2%, compared with a rise of
13.8% in 1984.
From the branch point of view, however, the
growth of these items in the local currency is
more important, for the monies are primarily
destined for the financing of local activities.
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